Hyperbolic paraboloid roof construction



Feb. 15, 1966 w, S-HQRT 3,234,620

HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 u 54 K 52 n 4/ INVENTOR i now ws/mri ATTORNEZS Feb. 15, 1966 T. w. SHORT HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID ROOF CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 23, 1962 Feb. 15, 1966 T. w. SHORT 3,234,620

HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 25. 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet s TTORNEXS" 52w 8 R fiMB/J 6 W m A m;

w, 1% i WW m 00mg 7% m l m r ZMZM J Feb. 15, 1966 T. w. SHORT 3,234,620

HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID RQOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 23, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I INVENTOR A THO/MSW SHORT BY Min 1 k ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,234,620 HYPERBGLIQ PARABOLOID ROOF CUNSTRUCTION Thomas W. Short, Apt. 11, 203 Spence, Kerrville, Tex. Filed Aug. 23, I962, Ser. No. 218,901 14 Claims. (Cl. 25l31.6)

This invention has reference to a new and improved method for forming thin-shell roofs of reinforced concrete and the like, the invention also including a new and improved method and apparatus for handling forms for concrete construction purposes.

Building construction embodying reinforced concrete has gained enhanced reception in the building industry due to the low cost of materials and the reliable and rugged structures obtained by employing such materials. However, the low materials cost of such building constructions, particularly in the field of small buildings, is offset to a considerable degree by virtue of the expense involved in setting up the forms for pouring purposes. Depending upon the particular building to be constructed, scaffolding and the like is commonly constructed at the building site with a consequent expense of time, labor, and materials.

This invention contemplates the provision of a new and improved arrangement for forming a thin-shell reinforced concrete roof or the like which involves an expeditious handling of the roof forms and associated supporting structure so that the roof forms can be assembled at the building site in a rapid and eflicient manner with minimum expenditure of time, labor, and materials. This invention is particularly designed for forming hyperbolic paraboloid roofs of thin-shell reinforced concrete although it will become evident that this invention is also wellsuited for forming other roof configurations as well.

According to one feature of this invention, there is provided a trailer vehicle which carries along its longitudinal axis upright supporting members of an inverted V-shaped configuration. mounted on each side of the V-frames at the apex thereof for pivotal movement between a lower transporting position and an upper position which defines at least a portion of the roof configuration. These inner forms carry outer roof forms along their lateral outside edges which outer forms are pivotally connected to the inner forms. The trailer vehicle is adapted to be stably supported at the building site, and the V-frames are preferably of telescoping construction so that the entire roof form assembly can be raised to its predetermined elevation. The roof forms are then positioned as appropriate to form the desired roof configuration, part of the roof forms being supported by building columns already formed at the site, and part of the roof form being supported by removable scaffolding positioned alongside the trailer, as necessary.

When the trailer and roof forms have been so positioned, the edges of the roof forms are built up as necessary to contain the concrete. A pattern of reinforcing rods is then laid on the upper surface of the roof forms and the concrete is poured. The roof forms have been positioned so that the concrete, when set, is carried by the supporting columns; and, after the concrete has set, the scaffolding is removed and the roof forms are simply pivoted downwardly and the trailer is ready for transportation to another building site where the steps are repeated.

Also, the invention contemplates such a method of building construction wherein two or more trailers are used together, the adjacent edges of the roof forms of the respective trailers being clamped together as necessary to form a continuous concrete receiving surface. This arrangement is particularly suited for forming hyperbolic Inner roof forms are pivotally.

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paraboloid roofs; thus, in one form of the invention, when two trailers are positioned in end-to-end relationship, the apex of the supporting members supports the adjacent inner edges of the inner roof forms in a straight longitudinal line while the transverse outermost edges are likewise supported in straight lines perpendicular to this longitudinal line. When the roof forms of adjacent trailers are clamped together, this meeting edge takes the form of a V-shape so that the hyperbolic paraboloid configuration is obtained. Variations of this basic arrangement are likewise provided, depending upon the edges of the adjacent trailer roof forms which are clamped together. However, it will be appreciated that the instant arrangement is suitable for other roof configurations such as that of an arch-shape, saw tooth configurations, flat roofs, or multi-story buildings and the like.

Further objects of this invention include: the provision of a roof form of new and improved construction; a method of forming a roof with transportable roof forms; a roof-form trailer of new and improved construction; and rapid and reliable method of forming thin-shell reinforced concrete roofs.

These and still further objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the specification and claims and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of a roof-form trailer according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation view of the trailer in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a broken-out longitudinal section view of the rear of the trailer;

FIGURE 4 is a detail plan View of .a trailer stabilizing bracket. taken along line 44 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a detail elevation view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a section view taken along line 6-6 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a broken-out perspective view of the roof form construction and its connection to the trailer;

FIGURE 8 is a transverse sectional view of the roof forms on one side of the trailer, pivoted to an upward position;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a partial plan view of the corner of an outer roof form at one end of the trailer;

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the roof forms of two adjacent trailers positioned adjacent one another to define a hyperbolic paraboloid roof;

FIGURE 12 is an elevational section view showing the connection of the adjacent roof forms of the two trailers;

FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic elevation view of the building site prior to forming the roof;

FIGURE 14 is a detail perspective view of the upper end of one of the roof supporting columns;

FIGURES 15-19 are diagrammatic views showing various stages of the roof forming method;

FIGURE 20 is an elevational section view taken through an edge of One of the assembled roof forms showing the manner in which the edges are built up to receive concrete;

FIGURE 21 is a perspective view of the completed roof:

FIGURE 22 is a side elevation view of the completed roof;

FIGURES 23-28 are diagrammatic elevation views of variations of the method of forming the roof according to this invention; and

3 FIGURE 29 is a rear elevation view of a modified trailer construction according to this invention.

The trailer and roof form construction, FIGURES 1-10 Referring first to FIGURES 1-3, there is shown a trailer 30 of generally rectangular configuration'in plan which is operative to carry roof forms 32' for constructing a thin-shell reinforced concrete roof. The trailer is in the form of a generally rectangular frame 34, in plan, to which is joined two sets of ground-engaging wheels 36 and 38, in the usual fashion. These wheels are preferably spaced inwardly of the sides of the frame 34 so that no parts extend beyond the frame, for reasons to become apparent.

The frame 34 carries at each of its four corner regions stabilizing supports 40 which take the form of vertically movable pipes 41 having abutment plates 42 at their lower ends. These pipes 41 are vertically adjustable, passing through appropriate vertical pipes 43 carried by the frame 34 (FIGURE 4). Suitable bolt clamps 44 or the like are provided for selectively tightening the stabilizing brackets 40 in their desired vertical position. By virtue of this arrangement the trailer 30 may be stably positioned on a concrete slab at afixed elevation above the surface thereof. Alternative stabilizing arrangements, such as jacking mechanisms, will be evident to those skilled in the art.

A trailer hitch 45 is carried in telescoping engagement with a guide rod 46 carried at the forward end of the.

trailer frame 34. Any suitable means are provided for fixing the position of the trailer hitch 45 relative to the guide rod 46, there being shown a tightening screw 47 for this purpose. This arrangement allows the trailer hitch 45 to be positioned within the frame 34 when not in use. Thus, when the trailer 30 is positioned at a building site, the same is rectangular in plan without any undesirable protrusionsand the trailer 30 may thus abut another trailer of like. construction along any of its sides, as will be explained in detail.

The roof forms 32 are carried for stable support along the longitudinal aXis of the trailer 30. by opposed; supporting members 48 and 49 at the front and rear of the trailer. The supporting members 48 and 49 take the form of telescoping pipes, the lower ends being pivotally connected to the frame 34 along its sides by horizontal rods 50 (FIGURES and 6) which are welded to the bottom end of the lowermost pipe and retained for pivotable movement about a horizontal axis by spaced apart angle plates 52. Three such telescoping pipes are. shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 although it will be appreciated the number of pipes can be varied for desired conditions. Moreover, the lowermost pipes of the telescoping supporting members 48 and 49 carry laterally extending bracket plates 53 for supporting the forms 32, and angularly extending supporting struts 54 which are likewise pivotally connected at their lower ends to the frame 34in a manner identical to that shown in FIGURES 5 and 6.

As best shown in FIGURE 7, the upper ends of the supporting members 48 and 49 are flattened and carry longitudinally extending pipe segments 56 and 58, respectively, as by welding. A long rod 60 passes through the adjacent pipe segments 56 and 58 so that the supporting members 46 and 48 are exandable to an elevated; position and retractable in telescoping relationship with one another by virtue of the pivot connection at their upper ends to one another and their lower ends to the trailer frame 34. Any convenient means for fixing the position of the,

telescoping pipes relative to one another may be provided, FIGURE 2 showing the clamping screws 59 threaded into each of the lower pipes.

Also rotatably carried on the rod 60 are pipe segments 62 and 64 longitudinally adjacent one another in alternating relationship. The pipe segments 62 are adapted to carry an inner roof form 66, while the pipe segments 64 adapted to carry an adjacentopposed inner roof form 66'. These inner roof forms 66 and 66' are thus pivotal with respect to the trailer 30, as will now be explained.

The inner roof forms 66 and 66' are of identical opposed construction and the roof form 66 will be described in detail and like prime reference numerals designating identical elements in the roof form 66. For the present, sufiice to note that the inner roof form 66 is a generally rectangular configuration, there being welded to the pipe segments 62 spaced along the rod 60 a long, outwardly facing inner side channel 68, its extreme ends carrying end channels 70 and 72 and an outside channel 74. Wood blocking members 76 extend along the top flange surface of these channels 68-74, being joined to these channels by screws or the like. Furthermore, generally parallel angle bars 78 are disposed in parallel and spaced apart relationship to the end channels 70 and 72, being welded at their extreme ends to the inner and outer channels 68 and 74. Long wood strips 80 are carried along the top of these angles 78 as by screws or the like. A continuous tongue-and-groove wood deck 82 is nailed across the wood strips 76 and 88 in longitudinally aligned relationship relative to the apex of the supporting members '48 and 49, defined by the rod 60, to form an upper surface for the pouring operation to be later described. In order to reinforce the inner roof form 66 sufiiciently to support the weight of the concrete, a reinforcing truss-like arrangement is joined as by welding to the angles 78. This takes the form of a long rod 84 of V-shaped configuration, welded at its ends at the ends of the angles 78, with vertical bracing members 86 positioned therealong, as by welding.

An outer form 88 is pivotally connected to the outside channel 74 and in a like manner an outer form 88 is pivotally connected to the outside channel 74 of the respective inner roof forms 66 and 66. These outer forms 88 and 88' are of generally identical construction to the description of the inner forms 66 and 66' with minor variations to be discussed. Thus, the outer form 88 has side channels 68a and 74a and channels 70a and 72a, reinforced angles 78a with appropriate wood strips carrying a similar tongue and groove deck 82a. Corresponding prime numerals designate like elements in the outer roof form 88'. The outer roof form 88 is pivotally connected along its channel 68a to the upper surface of the outside channel 74 of the inner form 66 via a pin connection 90, of any suitable construction. Conveniently, this may take the form of opposed angle plates 92 and 94 having their bottom flanges welded to the topsurface of the outside channel 74 and the adjacent channel 68a, respectively. A pipe segment 98 is welded to one angle plate 94 while a longitudinally spaced pipe segment (not shown) is welded to the angle plate 92 and a long pin 100 passes through these pipe segments to form a pivotal connection between the inner and outer roof forms along their upper surface.

A further modification of the outer roof forms 88, 88 resides in the provision of a cut-out portion at the intersection of the channels 72a and 74a, and 72a, 74a, respectively. As shown in FIGURE 10, there is here provided a rectangular cut-out portion 101, a short channel length 102 being spaced in parallel relationship to the end channel 72a. For reasons to become apparent, this allows a small portion 103 of the wood deck 82a in this region to be nailed down after the forms have been elevated to assume their roof configuration.

T he roof-forming method, FIGURES 11-22 The roof forms 66, 88, and 66', 88' form segments of a hyperbolic paraboloid roof. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, there is defined a straight line along the longitudinal pivot axis defined by the rod 60 carried by the supporting members 48 and 49, while the roof forms at the rear of the trailer 30 define a straight line with channels 70, 70, 70a, 70a which are perpendicular to the straight line defined by the rod 60. Moreover the opposite end of these forms at the front of the trailer takes in an inverted V-shaped form, having its apex at the rod 60. Thus channels 72 and 72a define one leg thereof while channels 72 and 72a define the other leg. The roof forms thereby assume an elevated position when pivoted to their upper positions thereby forming a segment of a hyperbolic paraboloid roof as shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 11. Moreover, trailer 30 with the roof forms 66, 66' and 88, 88' is constructed and arranged to define a thinshell hyperbolic paraboloid roof when another trailer 300 of identical construction to that shown and described is mounted in end-to-end relationship with the trailer 30, likewise as shown in FIGURE 11.

Referring now to FIGURE 12, the adjacent end channels 72, 72a and 72, 72a, the trailers 30 and 300 may be joined together by spaced apart C-clamps 106 along their underside. Any conventional C-clamp or like means may be provided for this purpose. As shown, an oppositely threaded screw 108 is operative to draw the C-clamp segments together.

Reference is now made to FIGURES 13-20 which show the assembly of the roof forms. First of all, the concrete slab S is poured in the usual fashion and centrally located opposed columns 110 and 112 are positioned' in the slab S as shown in FIGURE 13. Carried at the top of these columns are short angle plates 114 (FIG- URE 14) which face one another and are reinforced at their ends by web plates 116. The trailers 30 and 300 are moved onto the slab S and aligned with their cut-out portions 101, 101 adjacent to the columns 110 and 112. The outer roof forms 88, 88 are then pivoted downwardly relative to the supporting members 48 and 49, as shown in FIGURE 16 and all these forms are raised to their desired elevation, whereby they assume the configuration previously described. Any suitable means may be provided for this purpose, such as workmen raising the same with a longitudinal rod or bar which is temporarily clipped or hung to the apex of the supporting members 48 and 49 in transverse relationship. Thus, the inverted V-shaped configuration of the roof forms is positioned adjacent the columns 110, 112 with the columns received in the cut-out portions 101, while the opposite outer ends are positioned in a straight line. In order to provide the additional support for the load of the roof forms, prefabricated scaifolds 118 are positioned along opposite sides of the two trailers 30 and 300 for engagement with the underside of the outer roof forms 88, 88, as best shown in FIGURES l7l9. These scaffolds conveniently take the form of a base portion 120 having opposed upright pipes 122 which receive telescoping pipes 124 which are independently movable and operative to be positioned at any desired elevation by a suitable clamping arrangement, such as a machine bolt (not shown) threaded through the upright pipes 122 at their upper ends. In order to insure that the upper ends of the pipes 124 are temporarily fastened to the outer roof forms in secure fashion, there are provided depending bracket plates 126 (FIGURE 12) suitably apertured and welded at their upper ends to the angles 78a, 78a.

A pin 125 is placed through the bracket 126 and an aligned aperture at the upper end of each pipe 124, to thereby retain the telescoping pipe in engagement with the roof form. Thus, the angular inclination of the roof forms is easily maintained due to the flexibility of the scaffolding support provided. Likewise, the rear end of the adjacent trailer 300 is positioned adjacent the front end of the trailer 30 and the adjacent roof forms clamped together as shown in FIGURE 12 and supported in an identical fashion. The wood deck portion 103 is then nailed to the cut-out portion 101 outside of the columns so that the decks 82a and 82a are continuous.

In order to build up the edges of the forms which define the configuration of the hyperbolic paraboloid roof to be formed, channels 128 or the like (FIGURE 20) are joined to the outside channels of the assembled roof forms, these channels 128 extending upwardly above the deck to the distance of the finished roof to be formed. These channels 128 may be joined to the roof form channels by any suitable means, FIGURE 20 showing a vertically slotted, removable pin 130 extending outwardly through an aligned aperture in the outside channel of one of the roof forms, the channel 128 being received by the pin 130 and retained in place by a Wedge pin 132 which is manually driven through the vertical slot in the pin 126. Such a connection is repeated a long the outside channels of the roof forms as necessary to mount the channels 128 in a rigid fashion. Alternative arrangements for building up the edges of the assembled roof forms will be evident to those skilled in the art.

With the roof forms supported by the trailers 30 and 300 and the scaffolds 113 as described, and the peripheral edges of the assembled roof forms being built up, the roof may be completed. To this end a pattern of reinforcing rods 133 is laid on the deck, certain of the reinforcing rods being carried within the opposed web angle plates 114. The concrete is then poured onto the surface and distributed thereover as by workmen who can walk on the assembled roof forms. The concrete pouring and finishing operation in itself is well-known in the art and need not be described in detail.

After the concrete has set, the thin-shell reinforced Variations of the roof-forming method and trailer construction, FIGURES 23-29 While the formation of one shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid roof has been described, variations of this basic method of roof construction will now be discussed.

In FIGURE 23 the roof forms 66, 66 and 88, 88' are shown as being fiat so that a flat roof is formed, the roof forms being supported by the trailers 30 and 300 with scaffolds 118, as described.

In order to form a multi-story building, a floor may be formed as shown in FIGURE 22 and trailers 30 and 300 then lifted as by a crane onto the upper surface of the flat roof and supported thereon to form a hyperbolic paraboloid roof of a multi-story building in a manner identical to that described. Such an arrangement is shown in FIGURE 23. The only difference may reside in the placement of the building columns on the first-mentioned fiat floor as necessary to distribute the load in an efficient manner.

Likewise, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that instead of providing two opposed columns and 112 in the center of the roof forms of the two trailers such columns may be provided at each of the corners or elsewhere and the cut-out portions 101 rearranged accordingly. Further, instead of the adjacent clamped edges of the roof forms being of inverted V-shaped configuration, they may be of an upright V-shaped configuration in which instance the peripheral edges of the assembled roof forms would lie in a common plane and the lowermost portion of the roof would be at the geometric center thereof. If such an arrangement is utilized, it will be desirable to provide a central supporting column at the lower apex of the roof, this central column also operating as a drainage pipe in addition to providing the necessary structural support.

Still a further variation of this roof construction method is shown in FIGURE 25 wherein the inner roof forms 66, 66' are of quadrant-shaped configuration pivotally connected along the central rod 60 defining the apex of the supporting members in a downwardly facing arcuate configuration. As a further variation, the outer ends of the inner roof forms are here shown as being supported directly on the trailer 30 by hydraulic cylinders 134 pivotally connected at their lower ends 136 to the trailer frame 34 and pivotally connected at their opposite piston rod ends 138 to the outside edges of the quadrant-shaped roof forms. Two such roof forms define a downwardly facing arch configuration and it is evident that an arch-shaped roof can be provided by such construction. A variation of this design is shown in FIGURE 26 wherein there is provided inner roof forms 66, 66' of quadrant-shaped construction, as described, and outer roof forms 88, 88' define an oppositely extending quadrant curve so that the roof when completed is alternatively concave and convex in elevation.

Still further variations are shown in FIGURES 27 and 28, wherein the roof forms are flat, as in FIGURE 22 and are positioned to provide a saw-tooth roof configu'ra tion or a corrugated roof configuration. Depending upon the pivot connection between the adjacent roof forms, the same roof configuration may be obtained by the trailer in FIGURE 23, as is apparent.

Numerous further variations in roof construction will be evident to those skilled in the art.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 29 which shows a modified construction of the trailer 30. Means are here provided for pivoting the supporting members 48 and 49 as a unit relative to the ground-engaging wheels 36 and 38 so that the trailer may be angularly adjusted for alignment with the columns, such as in instances where the trailer is to be positioned at a remote and otherwise inaccessible area.

In this embodiment of the trailer 30 there is provided a first lower frame 140 to which the ground-engaging wheels 36 and 38 are joined by suitable bracket plates 142. A second upper frame 144 is positioned on the lower frame 140 and connected thereto by a vertical pivot pin 146 so that the upper frame 144 is rotatable in a horizontal plane relative to the lower frame 140. The construction of the upper frame 144 is otherwise the same as that of trailer 30 in FIGURES 1-6, like numerals referring to the same elements.

In order to lock the upper frame 144 in the longitudinal position in instances where the trailer is to be transported from building site to building site, spaced apart locking pins 148 are conveniently dropped into corresponding apertures (not shown) in the lower frame so that these frames may be held rigid with respect to one another, as desired. The supporting members 48 and 49 are joined to the upper frames 144 in an identical manner to that already disclosed. This embodiment of the invention also shows the hydraulic cylinders 134 pivotally connected at their lower ends 136 to the sides of the upper frame 144. This latter arrangement of the hydraulic cylinders being similar to that shown in FIGURE 25.

From the foregoing description of the various embodiments of this invention, it is evident that the objects of this invention, together with significant practical advantages are successfully achieved. While preferred embodiments of my invention have been described, numerous further modifications may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.

Therefore, it is to be understood that all matte-rs herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for handling forms for concrete construction comprising: vehicle means comprising vehicle frame means with ground-engaging wheels attached thereto, said vehicle means having a longitudinal axis; supporting means positioned in an upright relationship on said vehicle frame means, said supporting means comprising spaced apart front and rear inverted V-frames having telescoping legs, the lower ends of said legs being pivotally connected to said vehicle frame means and the upper ends of said legs pivotally connected to a longitudinal bar extending between the apexes of said front and rear inverted V-frames; and collapsible roof form means carried by said supporting means, said collapsible root form means being movable between a collapsed first transporting position and a second position wherein said roof form means defines a continuous surface corresponding to the configuration of a concrete roof to be formed thereon.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 additionally comprising hydraulic piston and cylinder means pivotally connected to each side of said vehicle frame means and pivotally connected to the outer region of said respective opposed collapsible roof forms to provide support for the same.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vehicle means comprises a lower vehicle frame member to which the ground-engaging wheels are joined; an upper vehicle frame member horizontally-pivotally connected to the first frame member and carrying said supporting means; means secured to said upper frame for stably supporting said upper frame at a building site; and means operatively associated with said lower vehicle frame mem her and said upper vehicle frame member for selectively locking said frame members together.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vehicle means additionally comprises a hitch secured to said frame means for enabling said vehicle to be pulled, said hitch being retractable within said frame means to allow said vehicle means to abut intimately another vehicle means in an end-to-end relationship.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said collapsible roof form means comprises transversely opposed roof forms having a substantially continuous area and being pivotally connected to said longitudinal bar extending between the apexes of said V-frames.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said opposed collapsible roof forms comprise inner roof forms and outer roof forms pivotally connected to the outer edge of each of said inner roof forms to define a substantially continuous surface area therewith.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein one transverse edge of said inner and outer roof forms defines a substantially straight line generally perpendicular to the longitudinal bar connecting the apexes of the supporting V-frames and the other opposite transverse edge of said inner and outer roof forms is angul-arly inclined relative to said longitudinal bar when said forms are disposed in an erected position so as to define a portion of a hyperbolic paraboloid roof.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said rectangular inner and outer roof forms each comprise a longitudinal inner frame member joined at its opposite ends to one end of a transverse inner and a transverse outer frame member, the other end of each of said transverse inner and outer frame members being joined to a longitudinal outer frame member, said longitudinal inner and outer frame members being joined by transverse reinforcing members at spaced intervals between said transverse inner and outer frame members, the longitudinal inner frame member of the inner roof form being rigidly attached to tubular members rotatably carried on said longitudinal bar between the apexes of said V-forms, and the longitudinal outer frame members of the inner roof form being pivotally attached to the longitudinal inner frame members of the outer roof forms; a deck joined to said frame members and said reinforcing members to do fine a continuous surface to receive concrete; and detach able means secured to the outermost edges of said inner and outer roof forms to build up said edges and thereby contain the concrete prior to setting.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 additionally comprising means depending from the underside of said roof forms for temporarily receiving supporting scatfolds.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said deck has a removable portion for receiving columns during erection, said removable portion being capable of being replaced once the roof forms and deck are in position.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said inner and outer roof forms a-re of an arch-shaped transverse configuration.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said inner and outer roof forms are of a substantially flat, rectangular configuration.

13. An apparatus for handling forms for concrete construction comprising: vehicle means comprising a frame means with ground-engaging wheels attached thereto, said ground-engaging wheels adapted to be maintained in a set position during the concrete construction; a pair of supporting means having a base end and an upper end and being disposedly positioned in an upright relationship on said vehicle frame means and supported solely from said vehicle frame means, each supporting means including means operatively associated with each supporting means for adjusting its upper end independently of the upper end of the other supporting means in a lateral direction with respect to said vehicle frame means and means operatively associated with each supporting means for adjusting its upper end independently of the upper end of the other supporting means in a direction transverse to said lateral direction; a longitudinal bar extending between said upper ends of said pair of supporting means; and collapsible roof form means connected t-o said longitudinal bar and being movable between a collapsed first transporting position and a second position wherein said roof form means defines a continuous surface corresponding to the desired configuration of a concrete roof to be formed thereon.

14. An apparatus for handling forms for concrete construction comprising: vehicle means comprising a vehicle frame means with ground-engaging wheels attached thereto, said ground-engaging Wheels adapted to be maintained in a set position during the concrete construction; a pair of supporting means having a base end and an upper end and being disposedly positioned in an upright relationship on said vehicle frame means, each base end being pivotally secured to said vehicle frame means, each of said support means including means operatively associated with each supporting means for adjusting its upper end independently of the upper end of the other supporting means in a lateral di-rection with respect to said vehicle frame means and means operatively associated with each supporting means for adjusting its upper end independently of the upper end of the other supporting means in a direction transverse to said lateral direction; a longitudinal bar extending between said upper ends of said pair of supporting means; and collapsible roof form means connected to said longitudinal bar and being movable between a collapsed first transporting position and a sec-0nd position wherein said roof form means defines a continuous surface cor-responding to the desired configuration of a concrete roof to be formed thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 378,977 3/1888 Ryan 20-2 X 411,468 9/1889 Pajeau 25-1315 717,163 12/1902 Campbell 280-442 974,778 11/1910 Dillig 25-1316 984,216 2/1911 Henderson 25-1316 1,009,848 11/1911 McArthur 25-1316 1,073,339 9/1913 Forthmann 280-442 1,584,658 5/1926 Rutten 25-1315 1,596,868 8/1926 Brynoldt 25-1316 1,885,699 11/1932 Feldblet 25-1315 1,963,983 6/1934 Garrett 25-1315 2,414,310 1/1947 Laird 25-154 2,612,384 9/1952 Wiegman 280-491 3,072,996 1/1963 McGuire 25-1315 3,079,662 3/1963 Zetlin 25-154 3,102,735 9/1963 Bigge 280-81 1. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

ALEXANDRIA H. BRODMERKEL, MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Examiners. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING FORMS FOR CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: VEHICLE MEANS COMPRISING VEHICLE FRAME MEANS WITH GROUND-ENGAGING WHEELS ATTACHED THERETO, SAID VEHICLE MEANS HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS; SUPPORTING MEANS POSITIONED IN AN UPRIGHT RELATIONSHIP ON SAID VEHICLE FRAME MEANS, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS COMPRISING SPACED APART FRONT AND REAR INVERTED V-FRAMES HAVING TELESCOPING LEGS, THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID LEGS BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID VEHICLE FRAME MEANS AND THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID LEGS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO A LONGITUDINAL BAR EXTENDING BETWEEN THE APEXES OF SAID FRONT 